J&J’s Annual Sales Fall; First Time Since Depression

Consistent, reliable Johnson & Johnson — cited as a model of smart diversification by Pfizer’s CEO, among others — saw its sales fall for the year. It was the first time in 76 years that J&J reported an annual sales decline, CEO Bill Weldon said, according to a live blog from Dow Jones Newswires.

Total sales fell from $63.75 billion in 2008 to $61.9 billion in 2009, according to results the company released today.

J&J’s prescription business was hit hard by generic competition for some of its big brands, including Risperdal and Topamax — a problem facing lots of major drug makers.

On top of that, Weldon said the industry is facing a wide range of pressures, including a shift in consumer buying to private-label products, less willingness to undergo elective surgery or buy contact lenses and diabetes-test strips, pressure on hospital budgets, and persistent unemployment.

Still, fourth-quarter sales did rise compared with the year-earlier period — to $16.55 billion, up from $15.18 billion. And Weldon said he expects the global health-care market to grow by 5% a year for the next five years, reaching $7 trillion by 2014.

Bonus Earnings: Read the full story on J&J’s earnings for the fourth quarter and the year.